The Understudy
by cheesepuff311
Summary: After being imprisoned for "stealing magic" during the Second Wizarding War, Bella escapes and seeks refugee in a familiar rainy town. Rated MA for violence, language and some eventual drug use.
1. Chapter 1

The pouring rain seems to pierce Bella's skin like millions of sharp little needles as she kneels low on the ground, digging her fingers deep into the soil, clutching onto the muddy mess to remind herself where she _wasn't_. The months she'd spent in the filthy and depressing singular cell behind the great walls of Azkaban left a lasting mark far deeper within her than the branding on her arm.

_You're safe now, _she lied to herself.

No, she wouldn't be able to call anywhere safe for a long time, not even in America. Even though Muggleborns were not persecuted here the way there were in Britain, it wasn't as if their government was offering asylum. In fact, Bella had the sour feeling in her stomach that they weren't far from the point Britain was at.

But moving back to Forks…no one had supported that decision.

It was less suspicious for her to be here alone, much to the chagrin of Colin and Dennis Creevy. They both were of the opinion that it was an impulsive and self-loathing course of action. They were still living in Florida, where Bella had suggested they move to. After Azkaban, the one thing they all craved was the sunlight and besides, there were so many homeless around that it wasn't even an unusual sight to see three dirty kids wandering the streets.

She never knew the term _sun shower_ until her first week in Florida. She had practiced sitting still during one for a few minutes, until she could no longer take it.

Forks was much darker, with black clouds looming in the sky consistently, as the sun rarely got through. She thought it set an entire tone for her childhood.

She needed allies, this she was sure of. She thought after she broke out of Azkaban her need for suffering would be over. That was all she had agreed to do, after all. There would be no freedom from her pain until the war was over. Even after, how could anyone return to a normal life?

The water below the cliff edge thrashed dangerously, crashing violently into the rocks below. Bella felt an overwhelming urge to jump. Truthfully, she had always had urges like that. What was it about standing near a ledge that made her want to step off it? Already on a dark tone, her mind drifted to her drowning. Would she be able to resist using her wand, once the water dragged her under? Do you die from your lungs filling with water, or do they burst from holding your breath?

There was a reason she was in La Push—but she wasn't expecting that reason to grab her. She instinctively kicked and thrashed as large hands hauled her away from the edge.

"What the hell are you doing? The wind alone could knock you off this cliff you _tourist_!" The man yelled, dropping her a few feet away.

Indignantly, Bella nearly growled at him. The self-restraint it took not to show this man what she was capable of swelled in her shaking fists. Then, taken aback, she laughed.

"Why are you in your briefs? Do you think it's okay to be running around here in your underwear, picking up teenage girls?" She considered for a moment, taking his buff appearance into account. "You do pull it off well, though."

Bella liked to think she could pick a witch out of a hundred muggles—the magic equivalent to gay-dar.

This man wasn't a wizard, but he was…different. An unfamiliar aura of magic seemed to radiate from him. Bella couldn't put it into words.

"You're…you're Bella Swan, aren't you?" He had to half shout over the downpour, but Bella was surprised. Who other than Jacob Black to be out here, acting strange? He'd personally witnessed her oddities as they grew up together.

They jogged to the woods, where the trees better covered them. "Sorry I called you a tourist; what were you thinking? You were so close to the edge!"

"Do you remember me as a child?" Bella had no time for foreplay; yet telling Jacob her secret would be nearly painful. You were never supposed to reveal what you were to Muggles.

"Do you remember how strange I was?" She insisted, when Jacob didn't respond right away.

"I remember you eating dirt, and…then you vanished." His brow furrowed, thinking back.

Bella snorted. She wasn't eating it _willingly_. Jacob and her had been making mud pies, when a mean girl had decided it'd be funny to force feed one to her. She had just wanted to go home…and then she was.

"I've only grown stranger, I have to warn you. That's why I want you to know you can trust me with your secret. What is it?" Bella asked bluntly.

Shocked crossed his features; Jacob clearly had no idea how to respond. He made a noise from the back of his throat. "Sometimes I don't brush my teeth at night," He joked without smiling.

"Cut it out, Jacob. You _ooze_ unusual. You are the incarnation of abnormal. So, are you going to tell me or not? I think we can work out some kind of deal—I have cash, I can pay you for your time."

She couldn't help but smile at her find. Jacob wouldn't have any prior allegiances; she wouldn't have to worry about him double crossing her.

Equally as important he wasn't emotionally invested, as the Cullen's would be.

"What kind of service are you looking for?" Jacob asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I need help in a rescue mission. Not only the rescue mission, but preparations must be made. I'd need a connection with someone who knows a bit about bus engines. Why don't we find a place to speak in greater detail?" 

"I don't know what you think I am, or what you think you are but you're…you're crazy," He accused, face blank.

"You're a liar," Bella said with easy, "Just tell me what you are." He wasn't moving to say anything. "Oh, well, I guess I'll go first. That's only fair…Well, I'm a witch." Bella had no time to pretend to be something she wasn't. "Here, allow me to demonstrate," She insisted after looks of pitying disbelief crossed his face.

She removed her want from where it was hidden beneath her clothing and levitated him into the air, grinning at his reaction. The grin evolved into a laugh, and Bella couldn't stop herself before it turned into hysterics. God, who knew how amusing it'd be to tell a Muggle what she was?

Revealing your true nature to a Muggle was an incredible crime. Yet, when they had stripped her of her wand, they had claimed she wasn't even a witch, so the law hardly seemed to apply to her.

"Like I said, I can offer some compensation, because you aren't going to like what I have planned for you."

Sam Uley, the Alpha of what was apparently a pack of "werewolves" (or so they perceived themselves) put her up for the night. He warned her that he would be watching her very closely, and no decisions would be made until further research was conducted.

His fiancée fed her dinner and gave her pyjamas. She did not treat Bella with fear, or curiosity. Bella imagined she was used to weird teenagers.

"I can fix those, if you'd like." Bella eventually offered upon seeing the woman's deforming scars. She knew what it was like to have scars, but not like that.

Not from someone you loved. Not across half your face.

School turned out to be as boring as she remembered. Within minutes of her first class she was reminded of why she used to be a truant. Not only were the classes overly boring, but she found them exhausting. Her peers were genuinely interested in her as a person, but she couldn't, and wouldn't return it.

Not because they were lesser, just because they were in such a different mindset. Prom, SATs, parents…Bella couldn't relate to them. Maybe, if they lived in a war stricken area, it'd be easier.

There were three vampires at school, and Bella kept her eyes on them whenever possible. They seemed docile and aloof, which was the best she could have hoped for.

She couldn't imagine why they choose to pass their time like this, but she didn't expect to understand them. That wasn't why she was here.

The vampire, Edward, had one class in common with her, and no others. They were both posing as juniors, and had English together. English was to be Bella's easiest class, simply because she could read. She did not know long division, when the declaration of Independence was signed, or even a damned thing about physics—but she could read.

The Muggles did seem to notice there was something strange about the Cullen's—that was a no brainer. But they couldn't quite put into the right words. The Cullen's ostracized themselves enough that it hardly seemed to matter.

Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale were _dating_. Bella couldn't help but wonder if there was some way for vampires to get drunk, and if there was, were they drunk when they decided to make that their cover story?

That's why it didn't surprise Bella when the only open seat in English was next to the youngest vampire, Edward.

What she hadn't been expecting was for him to thirst so dangerously for her blood. It was so glaringly obvious to her, but she supposed her Muggle peers must just assume he was constipated. She didn't understand how they could write these things off.

She believed in magic as a child, as many young children do. Growing up stomped all over the correct instinct that mythical things exist. Logic, they called it.

The Forty-eight minute lesson was extremely lengthy. For the first time all day, she felt awake.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time for her to analyze the situation before the end of the day arrived. Being a Muggleborn meant that she was more independent than she would have been if she was a half-blood, or even a Muggle.

Whenever an adult argued that she was too young, she'd always retort with "All Muggleborns are emancipated!"

Worry filled her as she began her trek home. She'd used good reasoning when she gone to school before meeting up with her father. The silence between them stretched over a decade. Walking had been a good decision too, because all the rage that she had pent up in her slowly began to wash away with the rain.

The house she used to live in was unrecognizable to her. She wouldn't have even been sure it was the same house, if not for the police car parked out front. There was a doorbell now, and she pushed it.

She gasped at the girl who answered the door. Why hadn't she prepared herself, or at least considered that Charlie would have more children? They bore striking similarities, although Bella objectively found the child prettier than her. She had a light curl to the ends of her hair, and a slight rosy parlor to her cheeks, but otherwise they could have been twins born several years apart.

"Wow, you _must _be Bella. We still have all your baby pictures, and sometimes mom can't tell yours and mine apart. Except she says I look a bit happier."

Bella couldn't help but notice they both had a severe case of word vomit. "I am Bella. Is…dad home?"

"Come in, please." 

Bella had manners at her age, but used them in a more fearful manner. This girl…she had the confidence it took Bella so long to find. Did that come from having two parents? "And what's your name?"

"Brenna," She smiled cutely up at her sister—and Bella noticed the first genetic upper hand she had. This girl was already fitted in braces. Bella'd been blessed to be born with straight teeth, so her mother told her. They wouldn't have had enough money to get them if she'd needed them fatally.

Charlie was sitting on the couch, the TV loudly talking behind her. He paid it not attention.

For a moment Bella just couldn't properly get her groundings. The carpeting had been removed, the room repainted and unfamiliar faces hung on the wall. None of that was startling. As a kid, there hadn't been a living room at all. Her mother called it the dying room.

"Bella!" Charlie sounds so dumbstruck, yet so completely amazed.

"Hey, um, I was in the neighbor—" She was unable to complete her sentence before being pulled into a hug.

For all the time Bella had spent preparing herself for his rage and hate, why hadn't she taken a minute to even consider the fact that he might be happy to see her? 

For the first time since her escape from Azkaban her tears had nothing to do with fear.

Brenna and Bella shared a room for the night, and her younger sister kept her up for half of it. She was slow to respond to the girl, as she couldn't stop thinking about the conversation she'd had with her father.

Every Christmas she'd write her father, and he'd never reply.

She'd been a fool to send the letters through her mother, instead of directly to her father. She couldn't feel any anger towards Renée, though. Not even when she found out that Charlie _had_ been paying child support throughout the years. Or that he'd been yearning for a relationship with her as much as she him.

In her jean pocket, a schedule was still folded. If she hadn't felt so utterly heavy, she might have abided to it. There were places to secure, people to check in on, updates that needed to be made…She promised herself that after Brenna finally shut up she'd do the most important item on the list and call it a night.

"Do you ever just stop what you're doing, and check to see if you're telekinesis?"

_That_ question woke Bella up. "Sure. That's normal." 

The silence gave away everything Bella needed to know about her younger sister.

Charlie had to leave before Bella woke up. Her step mother, Macy, had offered to let her skip school. "You just look so tired. Let me feed you, and we'll watch cartoons all day. We can _all _take a sick day." She'd offered, and then Brenna started begging, too.

"I thought he said he'd be here when I woke up," Bella said instead, waiting tiredly for her toast to pop out.

"Yes, well, we're generally a quiet town. Last night, god I don't know how, but a _bus _was stolen. I think maybe it was just misplaced—I mean, what is someone going to _do _with a long yellow bus?"

It was at that moment Bella realized she had grease smudged all over her fingers.

Please R&R!  
And a big thank you to sian'oliva for agreeing to be my beta!


	2. Chapter 2

The armoire Carlisle bought Esmé back in 1963 complimented their bedroom pleasantly. The antique is from the late eighteen hundreds, a medium mahogany color with two long mirror doors that ran vertically down each door. In the middle, there were four drawers slightly darker than the rest of the cabinet, with a double handled cupboard above that. All the handles were brass and intricate in detail.

It is the house of a demon.

Carlisle should have realized that such beauty rarely came at a discounted price. The first night they had it in their bedroom, a familiar woman exited the armoire. She was laughing hysterically, holding a limp infant dangling by her side.

Safe to say, it was the worse present Esmé ever received. Not to mention a mood killer, as well.

The men of the family tied the monster's den shut, and in every house they've lived in, the dresser had its own isolated room. The demon would shake it, but for whatever reason seemed otherwise trapped inside.

Edward personally suspected it was just bidding it's time.

The urge to flee after smelling that girl's blood had been so fierce, but he couldn't do that to his family. Not during a time like this.

Esmé was happy to have him home, and tried her best to cheer him up. Edward was her favorite child; everyone knew that. No one really had a problem with it, and Edward didn't have to guess why.

They all thought him lacking a mate was sad, and he probably _needed_ a little extra attention from his surrogate mother.

_We can just tell them you've decided to graduate from Denali, like Alice and Jasper. Or we could move again_…

"I won't leave," He finally assured her by noon, and hearing the words brought out such feelings of gratitude that Edward felt ashamed he could worry his mother so much. Of course, he wouldn't leave, besides the fact that it would upset everyone, they had safety in numbers.

Alice had begun seeing _them_ in 1970. It was terrifying, but distant. We'd never seen people like this—maybe they were so rare that they'd never seen the likes us our kind either. Still, the fact that Alice was seeing them was only obviously foreboding.

First and last contact was made in October.

The family of vampires was severely crippled without Alice and Jasper. Without any knowledge of their location, or how to successfully hurt these people, they were useless. Maybe Emmett and he could do something—but if they failed, the punishment would be severe. Not only for Alice and Jasper, but also for the entire family.

When Edward had seen into their thoughts, he suddenly didn't feel so bad about his own.

Edward spent his day pacing, reading, and writing down a few notes although not bothering to play any of them. He waited until his siblings returned from school, almost greedy with curiosity.

_She doesn't smell that good, bro._ Emmett thought, and accepted a hug from Esmé. She's been a bit needier since two of their children were taken, and glowed whenever anyone returned to the house. _Heavy sleeper, too_.

Emmett chuckled, remembering when Rosalie pulled the backpack that Bella had been using as a pillow out from under her, but still didn't stir.

Edward couldn't explain as to _why_ he was so interested, but flicked on the television as if he hadn't heard anything Emmett had been thinking towards him.

It was that night Edward found the first small solace after his favorite sister's absence. At least this way none of his family would know he was going to spy on Bella Swan.

People tended not to notice their food was missing. From a young age, Bella realized that normal people often dismissed strange things that didn't have a clear explanation. Another surprising realization was how many people left their back doors unlocked, or left a key hidden under their mat.

She took up the art of theft when the dinners in her home became single serving sized. Her mother would claim to have eaten earlier, but how was that possible when she couldn't even boil water? Bella tried to eat less of their food, so her mother could at least eat her scraps.

They deserved better than scraps.

Her first day of burglarizing she made a mistake. She took from the most convenient houses, the ones in her neighborhood. The inside of their houses were familiar in layout and pantry content; they had nothing either.

She had to travel further to find anything in excess. Unfortunately, the fancy neighborhoods were also much busier. Half the houses had stay-at-home moms and the other half had gardeners.

Things went much smoother when she wore her old girl scouts uniform. No one questioned you if you wore a uniform, although several people approached her to buy cookies. Some of them even insisted on giving her money in advance.

She could effectively gather enough food for a week in one school day, sometimes only from three or four houses. Yet, she found herself in strangers' houses more often than she found herself at school.

Though people tended to be ignorant to the disappearance of food, they did apparently notice when it appeared.

One day Bella overheard two of her neighbors speaking to her mother about mysterious food finding its way into their cabinets. Bella kept her eyes trained downward, but couldn't help but smile.

"There's a reason I was in La Push," Bella told Jacob after he introduced her to his impressed yet wary Alpha. She had a good feeling about the men who considered themselves werewolves. They were like nothing she'd never seen or read about, and the element of surprise could prove life saving. "I was here to look for your mom, Sara. Can we see her tonight?"

Jacob's quizzical face was almost comical. His thick brows rose nearly to his hairline, and just when Bella started to grin, he told her, "My mom died the year you left Forks. How do you even remember her? I hardly do."

Of course, Bella remembered Sara. She was several years older than her own mother and seemed born to raise children. She could still remember how jealous she was watching Sara braiding her daughter's hair. "I don't really—but when we left Forks, your mom gave my mom some money. I wanted to repay it, that's all." She pulled her backpack onto her lap, pulling out an envelope with two grand in it.

Jacob luckily did not ask where she had gotten the money. He counted the money with an unreadable expression.

"I spoke of the monetary pay I could give your pack, but there's more services I could offer," She frowned at the way that came out, "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"I didn't say anything! You didn't even give me the chance!"

"I couldn't make it so your clothes repair themselves after a phase. You wouldn't have to look like a pervert, walking around in your undies." She knotted her fingers on the table, "How do the vampires deal with your presence?" I imagine it's a very Greaser vs. Socs king of grudge."

"That'd be…unbelievable. Priceless, in fact. And they don't know about us at all. Due to a treaty we have with them, they don't enter the rez. We stay out of Forks now. Our ancestors only cared about our people; they can drain the whities, apparently."

"They don't know? Are you…are you sure?" She stood, her mind racing. The vampires might just simply be good at keeping to themselves, but that didn't fit into how she judged their species. A group of that size could afford to be territorial.

They had a psychic but didn't know their next-door neighbors were men who shifted into wolves? It was too good to be true. Yet, with all the shitty luck, something like this was bound to happen. The wolves were a godsend, hairy angels.

"Jacob, how opposed are you to grand theft auto?" Bella asked as sweetly as she could.

Edward Cullen did not show up to school on Bella's second day. No amount of staring at the door during her English class, trying to will him through it, worked. She had waited too long and feared waiting even a week longer. She made internal vows to work every free hour she had.

It was only during lunch break that Bella even considered the fact Edward might voluntarily not be in school. She wouldn't have thought of the possibility if not for Rosalie Hale glaring at her.

Was she glaring at her because she knew she was a witch? If that were true wouldn't she at least approach her in the safety of the cafeteria? With Muggles surrounding them, she had to know Bella wouldn't make a move.

Was it something else? Edward had obviously been uncomfortable in class yesterday—maybe he didn't want to endure that again.

Bella pulled out her incomplete vocabulary worksheet and walked with faked confidence towards the table the two vampires inhabited. The male looked straight at her, and wrapped his arm around his "girlfriend" when she increased the malicious in her stone cold glare.

"Is Edward going to be back tomorrow?"

"He's pretty ill, but he'll be back as soon as Carlisle clears him." Emmett responded calmly, and nodded towards the paper in her hand. "Got some homework for him?"

"I've completed half of it—the other half is his responsibility. Will you make sure he completes this, and bring it back to me tomorrow?"

The other half wasn't his responsibility, but she didn't care. In fact, she felt a sudden urge to keep these vampires as close in her sights as possible. With a light thud, she slammed her backpack onto the table and used it as a pillow.

Dennis called it the back-TARDIS, because of the fact that it was "much bigger on the inside." Colin argued that it was a stupid comparison as it wasn't used for travelling through space or time.

"Little girl, I think you should return to your table. Your friends are looking for you." Rosalie spoke for the first time, apparently the "bad cop" in their relationship.

The teenage girl turned her head to face them, and opened one of her eyes. "That's the problem. I'm tired, and all of them keep talking to me. No offense, but everyone seems to dislike you guys, so I think I can catch some sleep here."

Bella skipped out after lunchtime, and called for Sam Uley to pick her up. She had no idea if the vampires were on to her, but it was best to go to an area they were forbidden from.

Sam asked her what the emergency was, and Bella told him that Edward hadn't been in school. He wasn't as impressed as she was. He lectured her on how difficult it was for Emily to catch his attention, then he had to borrow Billy Black's car, and now _he_ wanted to know what the emergency was.

Bella couldn't help but laugh—it had been a while since she worked in a group where she wasn't at the top or equal. It was obvious Sam felt he knew better than Bella, and maybe he did, but not on this.

Dennis met them at the bus, and helped them strip the inside. There were circles under his eyes, but they weren't uncommon in this circle. All the wolves were sleep deprived. No one complained, but they would have if they thought it would do any good.

"Why couldn't Colin help?" Bella asked firmly again for the second time. The first answer Dennis had provided had been silly and earned a few laughs from their new friends. She wasn't willing to let it go, though.

"I don't know!" He lied, wiping non-existent sweat from his brow, "He just told me to tell you that he was busy! D'you know how to change a tire?"

Replacing the tires was a good idea, considering what kind of action they'd be seeing. "I asked my mother once, and she said: _'just put one some lipstick, stand outside your car and start to cry'_." Bella laughed at her own memory so hardily that a few people contagiously joined in.

Only after Dennis seriously suggested blowing it off did Jacob send the two magic kids inside to sketch a few mock ups.

They wrapped the day up around midnight, and Bella accepted another ride this time from Jacob.

"These people must be bad, if we're rescuing leeches from them." Jacob spoke easily of the newfound horrors of her world. It must not have been such a stretch for him—after all, only a year ago did he burst into a mutant dog.

"I don't respond to malicious name calling. They're just a little more dead than we are, but we are all _beings_. In fact, vampires are classified as beings more often than you would be, by legal standards, I mean. Technically, whenever you phase you lose your _being_ status and are reclassified as _beast_." Bella explained, wondering how strange this sounded.

"I'd rather be classified as a beast, if vampires are beings." Jacob shook his head in a disgust that fascinated and upset Bella all at once.

"Actually, you wouldn't be the first to reject their being status because they refused to share the title. Both Merpeople and Centaurs are classified as _beast_ because they don't like vampires." Bella yawned, and leaned her head against the cool window, "Sorry, this is probably really boring, isn't it?"

Jacob didn't respond immediately, but kept his aghast expression in place while speeding down the road. "Are you _kidding_? You're just going to mention freaking Merpeople and Centaurs and then accuse me of being bored. You're messing with me, aren't you? There's no such thing, is there?"

Once they were outside her house, Bella wondered if she should have called home to let them know she'd be late. Charlie had been there when she had woken, though, and he had even _promised_ her he would be. Bella hadn't made any promises.

"You all call yourselves werewolves, but you aren't. You aren't in my realm of magic commonly, so I don't have a name for you. You're simply men who shape shift into wolves, but you do not suffer from Lycanthropy. I'm not lying about those magical creatures, but you're right to think I'm a liar." Bella hopped out of the car, "It's important to understand where lies come from, and why, okay? The amount of things you don't know is astronomical—that's why I need you to trust my lies as much as my truths." She could feel a set of eyes on her as Jacob pulled out of the driveway, and she approached the door with dread weighing down her feet.

But, no one yelled at her when she arrived home. It would have been easier if they had.

Brenna was _crying_. Bella felt bad for upsetting her sister, but couldn't understand how she could cry over a person she hardly knew.

Macy wrapped her up in a blanket, and heated her up some leftovers from dinner. As soon as the scent of fish hit Bella's nose, it was almost easy to picture this house as it was before. How could she have forgotten that her childhood had smelt like fish? Memories were so slippery.

Charlie gave her a cell phone, some mace and a mini blow horn. Bella couldn't imagine being attacked and reaching for either of the three before her wand, but accepted regardless. "Just _always_ call to let us know where you'll be. I thought….I thought you might not come back."

Ready as a disarming spell, Bella shot back: "You said you'd be here when I woke up in the morning, but you weren't. Charlie, I don't know these people." She eyed Brenna and Macy contemplatively.

It wasn't because she was so afraid of learning to love her newfound family members—she was literally afraid they could be Death Eaters disguising themselves with polyjuice potion, and she'd be none the wiser.

Bella did not take a shower, even though Macy left out a towel for her. She crawled into the same pajamas she wore the previous night and sat on the edge of her bed as Brenna slowly faded to sleep.

Something wasn't right. The feeling of being watched had dissipated after Jacob left, as it should have.

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and quietly exited through the front door. She did not bring her pepper spray, air horn, or phone. She drew out her wand, and kept it firmly against her thigh.

"Come out!" She ordered in a shout hybrid whisper.

For a moment, there was nothing but stillness. Not only had the rain finally ceased, but also the frogs who'd been bellowing so loudly the night before were silent.

"Coward!" Bella accused what she hoped was no one.

No later than she had finished the accusation did she find herself on her back. The wet grass underneath her, and a solid vampire straddling her. One of his hands completely covered her neck, and squeezed tightly. She didn't recall dropping her wand, but was aware that her hands were empty as she tried to pry his hands from her.

This Edward Cullen looked more than uncomfortable—he was _pissed_.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review. Big thanks to my beta, sian'olivia, of course!


	3. Chapter 3

The trials were held after business hours, meaning that the Ministry of Magic was creepily abandoned. This was only Bella's second visit to the Ministry; the last time she was here was in her fourth year at school. They'd broken in, and she had seen Voldemort with her own eyes for the first and last time that night. She wondered how different this place would look with people filling it up.

They couldn't help but whispering to each other when they passed the new statue. In the dark, it looked like one horrible blob of hominid shapes melted together. Bella was willing to wager it didn't look much better in the light.

Their shoes had been taken by the guards when they were put into handcuffs, and the marble floor was cool under their feet. Bella didn't recognize the guards—but one of them did have a Dark Mark on his forearm.

The Muggleborns hadn't been let off the train. They rode all the way to Hogwarts, and even changed into their robes, but had been forced to stay onboard. The students all watched soberly when they slowly rolled past platform 9 and ¾.

Bella had always thought Hogwarts would be the answer to extended her childhood, what with all the magic and unicorns. Maybe magic would even restore her childhood, after all she had grown up fast.

If she had just stayed in the Muggle world, she'd probably be a very well adjusted young lady.

She'd probably be boring, though.

More and more people were crammed into the many compartments on the train, actual adults who were very expressive in their opinions. They screamed and cried more than their student counterparts.

"It'd always seemed too good to be true," Dennis had commented, "Of course magic has a high price, how could it not?"

When they finally reached their last stop, they were evicted from the train. The station was empty, with no apparent exit. Maybe you just ran through the wall, but Bella had no other experience with magic platforms. They lined up all the people against the train, and one by one killed their pets. They threw the owl cages onto the cement, and kicked them. An owl's scream was gut wrenching.

Standing in the hall way, waiting for her trial, Bella tried to grasp her rage she'd felt watching the only pet she'd ever owned be brutally killed. It only happened yesterday, but it felt like weeks. In fact, the past week was so surreal that it barely hurt.

The trials didn't take long.

It was upon seeing the stout woman conducting the trials that the unadulterated anger sparked. Dolores Umbridge, of course.

She smiled when it was Bella's turn. As the teen made her way to the lone chair in the center of the room, she vowed to one-day murder this bitch.

"Let's not dawdle, I'm a _mudblood_, anything else?" It was the first time she'd ever called herself that, and the insult lacked a certain degree of hate on her tongue. Bella always thought the word sounded childish. It had to due with the fact that Muggleborns aren't raised with this word, she hypothesized. You have to be taught words or bad as a child, or else it just doesn't click.

Hours later, for the second time in her life, Bella got to have a ride on a boat.

The North Sea wasn't nearly as calm as Hogwarts Lake. She sat in between Colin and Dennis, who were both pale enough to be ghosts.

Bella shut her eyes, and knew she was almost there when the sounds of screams began to drown out the restless ocean.

There was nothing to do but gurgle and die. Death wasn't a fear Bella ever had, until she was at its door.

Before her vision began to blur, she made eye contact with the vampire for what was the first time.

Bella couldn't comprehend such hate, his teeth were snarled, and he looked happy to be cutting off her air. She was so tired of being looked at by everyone with irrational hate! How could people look at her and see such a villain?

Not for the first time, she was glad her mother wasn't apart of her world, to see how badly people treated each other.

And….he let up, just a little, so Bella could suck in a painful breath of air. There were tears running down the side of her face. She dropped her hands, a moment of rational thinking allowing her to realize that she wouldn't be able to pry his death grip from her neck.

She'd dropped her wand several feet away, and reached out for it. Her fingertips could almost reach it. She groped at the air desperately.

"So defenceless without that stupid twig, it's where all your powers stem from, isn't it?"

Bella _needed_ that wand, and because it was a loyal stupid twig, it rolled over a few inches, right into her palm.

She did not _blast_ him off. She petrified him, and was then able to remove his hand from her throat. Situations like these were why you needed to think things through—if she had stunned him off of her, he might have taken her throat with him.

"Not so…" Bella began to taunt, until she realized the pain in her vocal cords. No, this was not the time to be outwardly proud.

She was rather good at memory charms; after all she had a lot of practice.

Erasing this once incident from Edward's mind was so much easier than erasing herself from her mother. Vampires' minds were very concise, without many corners to pry into. They had an exact memory.

She had been imbedded in her mom's every thought. Nearly everything she thought could be traced back to her daughter. The smell, the sound of her laugh, how her happiness directly depended upon Bella's…

Compared to erasing a child from their parents mind, this was cake.

The most complicated part was that vampires couldn't sleep. There was no way to lull him out, then he would awake without memories. He was present as she rifled rudely in his brain and took away his momentarily victory, as well as what he had overheard Jacob and her talking about in the car.

Ah, that was why,.

She would have to be quieter.

She dug deeper, and saw a mess of things that was hard to process at once.

_Stillness._

_A woman sitting sadly in a room with drawings cover the walls surrounding her._

_Watching Emmett and Rosalie leave for school,_ is he going to stay? Is he really that weak?

Bella stopped snooping, and found herself frowning. In his memory no one's mouth had moved, but Bella had heard them. They sounded like they belonged to Rosalie, but not exactly.

Sometimes memories slipped together, but Edward's mind was so organized and exact…

Bella put a vampire deter around the very edge of her house, and sent Edward packing. She made him suddenly remember that he wanted to spend time with his family.

He really did, too.

As Bella sorely waded back to the house, her hand gently massaging her throat, all she could think about was how scared Edward was. Was it prejudice that Bella hadn't thought of them as creatures that could fear? They were too old for that, right? Maybe the longer you're alive, the more fearful you become.

She crawled into bed, and noticed Brenna was awake, staring widely across the room. She didn't say anything, but watched Bella very carefully.

Too tired to be the last one asleep, Bella decided she didn't care if this girl was really an undercover death eater, or had seen everything that had happened. Sleep overtook her so quickly that she couldn't remember lying in bed at all.

Her night's sleep was fleeting, and she woke up in a daze being shaken. It was still dark outside, but that could mean anything. Forks was perpetually dark.

"You were crying in your sleep, like a dog." A small voice informed her, and Bella squinted her eyes open unsurprised to find another face only inches away from hers.

A lamp light suddenly turned on, even though neither of them moved. Bella shut her eyes automatically, and groaned in pain. Unfortunately, the act of groaning hurt, too.

"I got this from mom's room, she won't notice." Brenna held up a long sleeved black shawl that had a turtle neck. It flowed towards the end, and Bella immediately loved it. It was almost like a cloak.

"Th—" she stopped, sitting up. The clock next to Brenna's bed said it was five in the morning. She turned towards the large vanity mirror next to the window, and was surprised to see little cuts on her neck in addition to the black bruise. Under both her eyes were small little red freckles she knew to be petechiae. A fancy word for the blood vessels that broke when she was being strangled by an angry vampire.

When had she been bleeding, though? She looked down at her pillow, surprised to find small splatters of blood. She lifted a hand to trace over the cuts, and noticed her fingernails had blood underneath them.

She remembered violently clawing at her own neck to try to free herself.

"Are you okay? We should tell mom and dad, shouldn't we?" Brenna asked, sitting unhappily on the edge of Bella's bed.

At school, feigning sickness was almost too easy. She somewhat naturally had a sick look about her, in fact. She laid her head down at her desk, and spoke in a raspy voice for most of the day.

Until Edward had shown up in class. She sat up a little straighter, trying to calm her heartbeat back to normal. She had never seen anyone after she'd modified their memory, she just assumed that it worked. What if it didn't?

Edward took his seat next to her, and pulled out a familiar piece of paper.

"I finished our vocabulary homework, and took the liberty of correcting your definition of _"pathos"_. Did you really think that pathos is a Greek god?" He asked with a small chuckle.

Bella hadn't, but she also hadn't cared enough to look it up. She slid the paper to her side of the desk, and blatantly erased Edward's name from the paper. He saw, but didn't react.

He'd have an extra day to turn in the assignment, due to his absence. This, after all, wasn't a group activity.

"Did I miss anything at school yesterday?" He continued just as the bell rang. The teacher had a habit of being late, it seemed.

At Hogwarts, Bella had always wished there was a system to take and give points to teachers. Make _them_ compete among themselves for a trophy. That thought always made her grin.

"No, but I think you gave me your cold," Bella whispered hoarsely, seeing that it was going to be hard to avoid a conversation when Edward kept instigating it.

Why _was_ he doing that, anyways?

Bella was nine when she realized she was being followed by someone. At first, she could just _feel_ someone's eyes on her, but eventually she turned quick enough to catch the man. She was in a snooty neighborhood, her backpack cold with frozen meats, when her eyes landed on the oldest looking man she'd ever seen.

Usually she felt that she could outwit any adult, in nearly any situation. Rules didn't seem to apply to her—like the laws of gravity. Locked doors meant little to her these days, and she could always hide when she needed to. Even when the spot wasn't particularly good—nobody ever found her.

Staring across at the man, she began to feel as if she'd meet her match.

Her school told her that talking to strangers was unsafe. Her mother told her that she'd never meet anyone new if she didn't talk to people she didn't know.

Bella had a bus to catch—she needed to be back at her apartment before her mother returned from work.

Yet she found herself crossing the street with pretend confidence. Her mother often told her _"You are what you pretend to be, Bella_." Her mother never said this as a warning, but rather as an encouragement.

Standing across from each other, he looks down at her with some interest.

"Yes?" Bella asks, trying her best to imitate her teacher whenever a student would raise their hand and interrupt her mid sentence.

He gave her a smile, and leaned down with his hand held out. "My name is Albus Dumbledore." 

Bella had never heard such a ridiculous name. "Yes, _Albus Dumbledore?_"

She pretended to be someone who wasn't afraid.

"I'll get right to the point," He chuckled in what sounded like good nature. "I am the Headmaster of a school that I wish for you to attend. At this school, you'll find other students with your abilities, and teachers who can provide very insightful lessons. I'm sure you've noticed that you're a very special child?"

How was she supposed to answer _that_? Still, she was having trouble processing what he was telling her. Yes, she knew she was different. She had always just assumed that she was alone in the world, an absolute oddity.

For some reason she didn't doubt that he was like her, but she did doubt his intentions.

"There would be a few conditions, Isabella." His face grew slightly grave, "We do not tolerate stealing at Hogwarts, and if you'd like to attend I am going to need for you to return what you've taken today and restrain yourself from taking anything else."

Bella found she was blushing, and had an undeniable urge to make this stranger feel just as bad as she did. She theatrically dumped out the few chickens, many containers of ground beef, and a few boxes of Mac and Cheese. 

He looked delightfully relieved when Bella thought he should look more embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I jumped to conclusions." Dumbledore admitted, still smiling. He bent down and helped her collect the meat that wasn't damaged from being emptied onto the ground. They threw the damaged goods away in a green garbage can that was by the curb.

People were staring to stare.

Bella pretended to be someone who was never taken advantage of, someone who was one-step ahead of their contenders.

They walked slowly down the sidewalk. "Do you personally visit every child you want to attend your school?"

"No," He admitted, "I used to visit many more, when I was a professor, but as a headmaster it isn't in my job requirements."

"Then why are you visiting me, _Headmaster?_" She asked, the word strange and foreign and a little bit mocking on her tongue.

"Well, many students do not need anyone to visit them at all. They have parents who are like them, and we don't need to explain why they should attend our magic school—they know exactly how beneficial it will be in their lives." He carried on casually, and Bella slowly learned that she was a minority.

"Why are you visiting me?" she repeated, looking down at her wristwatch. She'd have to wait for the next bus, and Renee would know immediately that she skipped school. She would hear the answer waiting on the answering machine, and worry.

"There is a school in America you could attend, called Salem. It is a fine school, but like America as a whole, very new. I am a biased man when I promise you my school is superior, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. Hogwarts is a wonderful school," there is such earnest in his voice that Bella begins to trust him in the slightest.

"Why do you want _me_ at your school?"

"There is a list that automatically writes down the name of every magical child after they are born. It is how we know what children to invite to our schools. Your name was never written, can you guess why?"

Bella couldn't.

"If I wasn't on the list, how did you know you should invite me?"

"We were alerted to your abilities four years ago, when you resided in Forks, after a certain incident regarding your grandparents."

She wishes she hadn't asked. "Take me there, right now. And I'll go to Hogwarts, but I want to see it. _Now_." She emphasized again. She wanted to be anywhere else except for right here, in a maze of suburban houses.

He hesitated before holding out his hand, "Very well, Isabella."

"It's just Bella," She corrected before taking hold of his wrinkled hand.

Dumbledore hadn't just agreed to take Bella to Hogwarts for her own benefit, but to run some tests. It took Bella until her first year of Hogwarts to understand, but there wasn't a way he could hide it. He had placed the sorting hat on her head, and he had simply said _"Nothing_,"

In Edward's mind, he heard his sister, but her mouth didn't move.

If a hat could read minds, why not a vampire? That would explain why he was paying her special attention.

And if he had contact with other Witches and Wizards, he could surely read their minds. So it wasn't like being a natural Occlumens was what he associated with her kind.

"Hey Bella, I have to make up a test today at lunch, but would you join me for lunch tomorrow?"

With her throat hurting from his assault last night, Bella could only nod. Her stomach tingled with nerves. She _had_ wanted to keep a close eye on the vampires, right? But she felt her nerves stemmed from somewhere else. Edward's tone was unsure and she blamed him for catching his anxiety.

She texted Charlie after school that she would be home later. Did she really need to be specific? Jacob picked her up from school, and when he tried to start a conversation with her, she shook her head. "I don't want to talk to you right now." She whispered, hoping he'd be smart enough just to trust her.

She imagined Edward jumping in front of their car with that fury in his eyes she had seen last night. Earlier in the day the vampire had suspiciously invited her to eat lunch together, and his tone had been so drastically different from when he had taunted her.

Once they walked up to the bus, Bella lowered her turtleneck to show off her bruises to Jacob and Dennis. Where was Colin? She looked at Dennis questioningly, but he pretended not to notice.

Dennis whistled appreciatively, his shirt off and red-faced. "Who?"

Bella made fangs with her fingers, tugged on her ear, and gestured to her and Jacob fluently.

"The vampire overheard you guys talking? C'mon, Bella, you know their hearing abilities. D'you take care of it?" She nodded.

Jacob interrupted their calm conversation about her strangulation by screaming. It was animalistic and he shook with rage. Both teen wizards took a few quick steps backwards, pulling out their wands.

"One of those leeches _choked_ you?" That has to be a violation of treaty! Which one was it?"

"Your treaty states that the Cullen's are not allowed to bite or kill any humans, which they did not." Dennis reminded him—he had insisted on reading over their agreement. "Bella can take care of herself, mate. We pose more threat to the vamps than they do us, so just cool off. Also, I broke the alternator, and the emergency hatch."

Dennis and Bella both rummaged through their backpacks, pulling out a few scarce jars. If Colin had been there to contribute his portion, they could have gotten rid of the bruises on Bella's neck. As it stood, they only had a few soothers that permitted Bella to regain her voice.

Jacob and Dennis worked on the bus for a few hours, while Bella practiced in the Alpha's back yard. Emily sat on the steps, drinking something from a mug and watching her interestedly.

"_Expector PATRONUM!" _ Bella screamed louder on the second word, upset to see that the spell wasn't even forming. Not even a blue wisp came out this time. How was it possible that she was getting worse?

"Think happy thoughts!" Dennis shouted from under the bus.

She took a moment to compose herself. She pictured seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Seeing her mom after the first school year ended…

"_Expecto Patronum,_" She said with confidence, but confidence wasn't the key to this charm.

This was never going to work if she couldn't master the Patronus charm. The pressure weighed down on her heavier each time she messed up.

Maybe it was because the memories that made her so happy once now were tainted with sadness. She missed her mom—she'd wronged her mom. And she adamantly believed Hogwarts was stolen from her.

She tried picturing killing Umbridge, but that didn't work either.

Eventually the night full upon them and it was time to leave. After all, Emily needed to sleep, and she couldn't do that with a teenager shouting gibberish and curse words a few feet from her window.

Bella couldn't help the felings of worthlessness that coursed through her. She couldn't even think of one goddamned happy thought. Not even when people's lives depended on it!

She came home to find the house strangely loud. The sound of a drill came from the open upstairs bathroom, and Bella cautiously peeked in.

Charlie was drilling in a shiny showerhead, his back facing Bella. There was no longer a tub. The walk in shower was a little out of place, too modern for the traditional bathroom. The tiles were peach and different from the rest of the black and white tiles in the bathroom.

It had been three long, hard, sweaty days since Bella had bathed. She was looking grimy, and felt worse. Tonight would be the night. She might not be able to overcome a Patronus charm, but she _would_ shower.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and I apologize for the amount of time it's taken me to post this chapter. Please Read and Review, it will encourage me to get the next chapter up quicker!

As always, thanks to sian'olivia! You're a life saver.

I'd also like to take this moment to recommend her HP/Twilight crossover (_Travelling Home_). She is currently rewriting the story, and this is the new and improved updated version! I honestly haven't read it yet, as I am waiting to finish my own HP/Twilight crossover so I don't accidentally steal any ideas.


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